Online Reporter
Zvikomborero Parafini
AFTER years of singing his way into the hearts of Zimbabweans with soulful tales of love, Alexio Kawara is returning to familiar territory — but this time, he is looking at romance through older and perhaps wiser eyes.
His latest offering, ‘Ndokekutanga’, explores the moment when love ceases to be merely an emotion and becomes a commitment — the kind powerful enough to make someone who has loved before feel as though they are experiencing it for the first time.
For Kawara, the song also signals something else: a creative reawakening. “My creativity has switched back on again and I want to give people as much of myself as I can through music,” he said.
“I believe that this is my contribution to the world.”
‘Ndokekutanga’ explores a man finding himself committing to love at a level he has never experienced before. Kawara said the idea emerged while reflecting on marriage and, particularly, what eventually makes a man choose one person with whom to build his life.
“There is no significant event that was going on in my life but the song came during one of those moments when I was just reflecting on marriage life and I was thinking of what really happens for a man to get to a point of settling for one woman,” he said.
The song, he explained, carries two intertwined stories.
The first is about a man who falls so deeply in love that his previous romantic experiences almost pale into insignificance.
The second is about the woman whose love finally manages to tame his heart.
“It’s a little bit of both,” Kawara said when asked whether the song was inspired by personal experience or storytelling.
“I think the song generally describes the love stories in most relationships, but as an artist I have to find a captivating way to express it.”
Having built much of his catalogue around matters of the heart, Kawara is hardly a stranger to love songs.
But ‘Ndokekutanga’, he says, ventures into a form of romance he believes is increasingly disappearing — love rooted in something deeper than physical attraction. “’Ndokekutanga’ is exploring the side of real love that is slowly fading away in this age. The kind of love that goes beyond just beauty.
“The kind that sweeps a grown man off their feet,” he said.
At the centre of the song is an almost indescribable emotion — knowing that what one feels is profound but struggling to adequately articulate it.
“I wanted to capture that indescribable emotion, the kind that only one can feel but fails to express in words and can only try to express in action.”
Unlike many of his previous compositions, which usually begin with a melody, ‘Ndokekutanga’ arrived with both melody and lyrics.
The chorus was completed within a day, but Kawara deliberately took longer with the verses, wanting them to carry the weight of the hook.
A line in the chorus — “paripo pandakafunga kuti apa ndazonyura asi aka ndokekutanga” — ultimately became the anchor around which the song was built. Musically, Kawara was also careful to strike a balance between evolution and familiarity.
“I wanted a modern sound that would not dilute my original sound,” he said.
“I think this sound will take people back to the Alexio they have known and liked back in the day. Young-ish but still mature.”
He worked with young producer Golden Fingers on the song, while guitarist Frank Mavhimira, who currently plays for Joyous Celebration, performed the guitar lines Kawara initially heard in his head.
His approach to songwriting has also changed considerably with age.
Kawara admits that while some of his earlier compositions were informed by imagination and idealised notions of romance, his writing today draws more heavily from lived experiences.
“Now I feel like my creativity is based on real experiences unlike the early days where it was more about fantasies and flattering,” he said.
That maturity perhaps explains why he remains convinced that there is still plenty left to say about love despite having explored the subject throughout his career.
“Life and love are very broad topics. It’s all about being observant and being able to put that into song. I believe that is what the gift of art is all about.”
For Kawara, what separates a timeless love song from one that merely enjoys its moment is authenticity.
“Love songs are timeless when they are real and written from the heart,” he said.
“The melody should be relevant to what you are talking about in the song. Someone should be able to hum it and still feel the emotion it carries even without understanding the words.”
While retaining the identity that made his music popular with earlier generations, Kawara is conscious that a younger Zimbabwean audience is now consuming music differently.
He wants ‘Ndokekutanga’ to reach them too.
“Yes, definitely. I would like my music to also speak to them,” he said.
“Music is supposed to find a way into a person’s soul without asking for permission.”
Early reactions have given him reason to believe the song is doing exactly that. One response particularly caught his attention.
“One comment on my YouTube channel says, ‘Now we have our wedding song’,” Kawara said.
For an artist singing about choosing lasting love, perhaps there could hardly be a more fitting response.
